Sunday, August 9, 2015

Baby G#3, Preschool, And Updates on the Kiddos

Life is crazy, busy, full of anticipation, and I am just enjoying it before life as I know it gets turned upside down and I have 3 kids under 4 to take care of. The girls keep me busy from about 7:30 am until they go to bed at 8. I have discovered more than ever this summer that I thrive on routine. Some days might feel monotonous, but if you mess with that predictable monotony, I get grumpy. So this summer, our weeks have been filled with a repetition of play time, weekly water park visits with family, housework, baby prep projects, and doctor visits. As usual, we spend lots of mornings out taking a walk, messing around in the garden, filling, cleaning, and refilling the kiddy pool and giving pushes on the swing set. I think Julia would be content to be pushed in her little pink ride-on car (she calls it her "beep beep") or in her swing all day long. Natalie loves helping check on the vegetables and picking whatever happens to have survived all the rain we had in June/July. Things are in a pretty sorry state in the garden at the moment and I'm, well, over it. Pregnant mama has worked hard and couldn't keep up with the persistent Bermuda grass and towering tomato plants that seem to grow another foot and need to be re-staked every few days. There's always next year.

We found out at the end of April that we are expecting another girl! I'll be honest, it took me quite a while to adjust to the news. This pregnancy has been NOTHING like the first two, so I was just sure I was having a boy. But now I am having fun sewing her quilt, making crib sheets and changing pad covers, and even a Christmas stocking. There's no telling when I'll find the time to sew after she arrives, so I might as well get things done while I have a chance. Natalie has named her baby sister Sophia Olaf. Alex and I accepted her choice for a first name, but have made absolutely no progress in picking an acceptable alternative for her middle name.

Tomorrow, we will embark on a new journey as a family: homeschooling. Natalie has been looking forward to preschool for quite a while and soaks up all the information that she can about the world around her. Lately, her interest in letters, sounds, and writing her name has really grown, so I am taking the leap and giving it a go. I am having a very hard time deciding whether or not to do two years of preschool with her because her birthday is so late, or going ahead and starting kindergarten next year. I am a long-term planner, can you tell? The best idea is probably to just wait and see how this whole preschool thing goes and then decide! I am nervous about how our lives are going to change once Sophia is born and I don't want to completely push schooling aside, especially when I know it will be fun and special to spend that time with Natalie. We joined our local homeschool co-op which meets once a week starting in September and has classes for Natalie's age. My social butterfly will love making new friends.

Julia is now 18 months old and is changing quickly from a baby to a full-fledged toddler. Her vocabulary includes about 40 words (not all of which are clear, but close enough that we can interpret what she is trying to communicate), her favorite of which are "I want", "eat", "snack", and "more". Can you guess what her favorite pastime is? Ha ha! The kid can put the food away!!! Her favorite foods are probably raisins, blueberries, cooked carrots, spaghetti, mac n cheese on the rare occasion that she gets it, corn, bananas, applesauce, and yogurt. Really, she loves fruit, cooked veggies, pasta, and sweets, and isn't a fan of most raw veggies and meat unless it is mixed into a soup or casserole or cut up in very tiny pieces and covered in seasoning or sauce. She can sometimes successfully do a forward roll, jumps with both feet off the ground, loves going down slides at the water park and just being in the water in general, story time, dancing, and playing with her big sister. Those two really love each other, which is a huge answer to 9 months of prayer when I was pregnant with Julia. Now I am praying that my three girls will love one another, always include each other, and be like a 3-strand cord that is not easily broken.

Natalie is my big girl. Don't try to tell her she is too little to wear red nail polish (I made that mistake) because she will just tell you, "I am too bigger! I am a big sister!" She keeps an eye on Julia and loves feeling Sophia kick. The other day, she and I were snuggling on the couch at nap time and her back was against my belly. Sophia decided to practice her soccer skills and went a little crazy. Natalie thought it was hilarious getting kicked in the back and the behind by her baby sister. She helps me tremendously from fetching things around the house, to putting things away, helping me grocery shop, picking up after herself, getting herself dressed (even if she does want to change outfits 3 times a day), feeding the dog, getting the mail, and generally being willing to help however I ask her to. She wants mommy and daddy to snuggle with her and rub her back every night before bed. Lately she has been singing along with songs on the radio and it just melts my heart to hear her sing about Jesus. She gets excited when it is my turn to lead worship at church and asks me if I am going to sing. I think there is a good chance that she'll be up there with me some day. Natalie asks me every morning where we are going and who is coming over. If I tell her that we aren't going anywhere or that no one is coming over, she asks to go somewhere and see someone. She loves going to the library, the water park, to her grandparents' houses, to church, and to play with friends. She has been fascinated with ballet for months now and loves wearing tutus, dancing around the house, watching Angelina Ballerina, and watching YouTube videos of real ballet dancers.

So that's life around here in a nutshell. Sophia will make her grand debut in roughly 9 more weeks and then things will really get interesting. I am so nervous about the transition from 2 to 3. Having Julia seemed like a breeze, but now I'm really going to be outnumbered. What if I never get a nap?! I have gotten the hang of the whole two-kids thing and now it's going to change. I just want there to be enough of me to go around and for no one to feel neglected or left out. Despite making progress on a few projects, my to-do list is still a mile long. Some of the things on it aren't important, but it would still be nice to get them done. It'll all come together. And God's grace is sufficient to help me through this next transition!

No comments:

Post a Comment